Key moments

Nacer Bouhanni was among the leading favourites to win the 1st stage of Paris-Nice and he lived up to the expectations to swap his French champion tricolore for the Yellow Jersey of the Race to the Sun. The FDJ ace sprinter overpowered Italians Alessandro Petacchi and Elia Viviani to snatch one of his most brilliant victories to date thanks to a perfect lead-out work by his team-mates. As a a result, three Frenchmen are now leading the general classification, prologue winner Damien...

Sylvain Chavanel explained that he had found himself in the front quite unwittingly, leading the sprint for one of his Omega Pharma Quick Step team-mates and praised the new generation of French sprinters.

French champion Nacer Bouhanni was all the more pleased with his victory in the first stage of Paris-Nice as it was a great reward for his FDJ team-mates, who worked very hard to bring him back and set him up ideally for the bunch sprint in Nemours.

A pile-up at the crash involved several riders. The only seirously hurt seemed to be Kevin Seeldrayers (Astana), who was limping on the pavement.

15:31

Latest gap

Km 157 - Sicard, Lindeman and Talabardon only lead the peloton by 1:30.

15:29

Average speed

The average speed after four hours in the stage is 38.75 kph.

15:25

FDJ join the chase

FDJ join Europcar in the chase with 40 kms to go before the finish line. Of course, French champion Nacer Bouhanni is one of the leading favourites in case of a bunch sprint, especially as he can count on a formidable lead-out train with Yoann Offredo, William Bonnet and Geoffrey Soupe.

15:19

Lead is melting down

Only 2:15 left for the break as the peloton tackles the final loop around Nemours.

15:15

Already a stage in Nemours in 1980

A half-stage of Paris-Nice finished in Nemours in 1980 and was won by Serge Parsani.

15:14

The break in Nemours

Romain Sicard (EUS), Bert-Jan Lideman (VCD) and Yannick Talabardon (SOJ) are now in Nemours fort the first time before a last 45-kms loop around town.

15:12

Kristoff is back on his bike

The Norwegian spent some time on the tarmac but is now back in the race.

The peloton is led by the Argos Shimano team-mates of German sprinter Marcel Kittel and the Europcar team-mates of Yellow Jersey holder Damien Gaudin.

14:06

Latest gap

Km 100 - The gap between the break and tje peloton is 5:00

13:56

The gap under five minutes

Km 94 - Sicard, Lindemand and Talabardon now lead the bunch by 4:55.

13:51

Fedrigo quits

Weakened by flu since the prologue, Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ) just called it quits.

13:48

Guille: "Sojasun's goal is the polka-dot"

Sojasun's team-director Nicolas Guille told www.lefour.fr that the main goal of Yannick Talabardon's break was to go for the polka-dot jersey: "Our main goal today was the polka-dot jersey. There is only one climb today and there is none tomorrow so it's a good opportunity to seize the jersey and keep it for two days. We had a good prologue as well and it was important for our morale to start this Paris-Nice well and hope to remain in this positive spiral."

13:37

Gap goes down

Km 83 - The chase gains momentum as the three escapees now only lead the peloton by 5:45.

13:36

The break in Etampes

The break is in Etampes (km 91) start of the first stage of Paris-Nice in 2005. Tom Boonen won that stage. Etampes was also the start of the last stage of the 2008 Tour de France.

13:32

Bouhanni feels well

FDJ team director Thierry Bricaud told www.letour.fr that French champion Nacer Bouhanni was in great shape and looking forward to a mass sprint: "We focus on the stage win. Nacer feels really well. We hope he'll go for the win in the finale. If we need to chase, we will, but other teams are also interested in a sprint finish."

13:28

Average speed

The average speed after two hours in the race was 39.7 kph.

13:25

12 degrees on the race

The weather is cool with a temperature on the race at 12 degrees and a brilliant sunshine.

13:23

Gap stable

Km75 - The gap between Sicard, Talabardon and Lindeman remains stable at 7:05.

13:17

Yannick Talabadon's profile

The 31-year-old Talabardon has been a pro since 2002. His most recent victory in the pro ranks was Paris-Troyes in 2009.

13:14

The race in Dourdan

The race is in Dourdan (km 70), home of the Paris-Nice prologue in 1971 and 1972. Eddy Merckx was the winner both times.

13:13

Romain Sicard's profile

Under-23 road world champion in 2009, the Frenchman also won the Tour de l'Avenir that year. Seen as the great prospect for French cycling at that stage, he joined team Euskaltel in the pro ranks but has since been hampered by a lingering leg injury.

13:09

Bert-Jan Lideman's profile

Pro with Vacansoleil since last season, Bert-Jan Lindeman, 23, has won one race in the professional ranks, the Profronde van Drenthe last year. He was also third in the Dutch road championship behind Niki Terpstra and Lars Boom.

13:03

Latest gap

Km 60 - The gap between the three escapees and the peloton is 6:30. Europcar are leading the chase.

13:01

The race in St Arnoult

The peloton is in Saint-Arnoult (Km 61), start of the first stage of Paris-Nice won by Greg Henderson in 2010 and start of the Paris-Tours classic from 2001 to 2008.

12:51

The race in Rambouillet

The peloton is in Rambouillet (km 50) which was the start of the final stage in the last Tour de France.

12:39

Gap keeps going up

Km 42 - The lead of Romain Sicard (EUS), Bertjan Lindeman (VCD) and Yannick Talabardon(SOJ) goes up to 7:20.

Nemours-born motrocyclist Cyril Despres, the five times Dakar rally winner, paid a friendly visit to www.letour.fr. He will be at the finish to greet the riders.

12:19

Latest gap

Km 30 - The latest gap between the three and the peloton is 6:15.

12:14

Flickinger: "Tricky to defend the jersey"

Andy Flickinger told www.letour.fr that the Yellow Jersey would not be easy to defend because of bonifications at the finish: "So far, so good. There are three men in the front and the best placed overall is 12 sec behind and there are only six seconds of bonifications to be taken in the intermediate sprints. Then everything will depend on the attitude of sprinters at the finish. Bouhanni and Boonen are not far in the GC, but we also have Sebastien Turgot who can do well. Obviously with...

11:58

Fedrigo sick

Pierrick Fedrigo (FDJ) is sick with flu : "He nearly didn't start the prologue yesterday. He really is not in great shape. We'll take it day by day," team director Thierry Bricaud told www.letour.fr

Paris-born Talabardon tweeted today (‏@TalabardonY) that he was excited to ride a stage entirely taking place in his native region of Ile-de-France: "It's rare enough to be mentioned", he wrote.

11:33

First attack

On the gun, Romain Sicard (EUS), Bertjan Lindeman (VCD) and Yannick Talabardon (SOJ) broke clear. They now lead the bunch by 1:25.

11:31

Start given

The start was given at 11:26 to 184 riders.

11:28

Tweets of the day

Baden Cooke ‏@badencookeBlue skies over Paris. Pretty happy about that. First time back at Paris-Nice in about 8 years for me.

Romain Lemarchand ‏@RLemarchandFirst stage of Paris-Nice today (195km) with a finish in Nemours, the town in which I'm licensed.

David Millar ‏@millarmindNothing like feeling amazing in a prologue and finishing 82nd. Good times!

11:27

In the press today

In l'Equipe, Philippe Bouvet reviews the reasons why Sylvain Chavanel can win Paris-Nice: "He is the best placed of the favourites at the end of the short and winding prologue in which he managed to find his way like an eel. And since the race is often decided by seconds, the ones taken off his direct rivals (5 secs on Gesink, 8 secs on Porte, 10 sec on Van Garderen) are not a detail."But Bouvet also mentions the reasons why Sylvain Chavanel will NOT win the Race to the Sun:

11:19

Jersey holders

Thanks to his victory in the prologue, Damien Gaudin will ride the 195 kms to Nemours in the Yellow Jersey. The Frenchman (Europcar) leads compatriot Sylvain Chavanel (Omega Pharma Quick Step) and Dutchman Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil) by one second.While Chavanel will be holding the green jersey on the roads of Ile de France, the best young rider's white jersey is on the back of 21-year-old Dutchman Wilco Kelderman, who leads France's Geoffrey Soupe (FDJ) and Tony Gallopin (RLT).

11:16

On their way to the real start

The peloton are heading towards the real start. The 184 riders have taken off from St Germain-en-Laye near the Camp des Loges, Paris Saint-Germain training centre.

11:13

Climb of the day

Km 119.5: Cote de Buthiers (4th cat.)

11:12

Sprints of the day

Km 115: MalesherbesKm 162: La Madeleine-sur-Loing

11:07

Sunny all the way

The weather is sunny at the start and the sun will shine throughout the day according to weather forecasts.

11:06

Welcome on the 1st stage

Welcome on the 195-kms first stage of Paris-Nice between St Germain-en-Laye and Nemours.